New York (US) – US presidential adviser Ivanka Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday to support Goya Foods after the largest Hispanic-owned US food company was subjected to a social media boycott campaign sparked by its CEO’s effusive praise for President Donald Trump.
“If it’s Goya, it has to be good,” Ivanka, daughter of Donald Trump, tweeted the company’s slogan in English and then went on to repeat it in Spanish on Tuesday night.
Ivanka’s tweet had her holding a can of Goya’s black beans, garnered over 35,000 retweets and 62,000 likes in little over four hours.
However, her comments could lead to a violation of government ethics rules, as it prevents the use of public office to endorse products or advance personal business gains. The US Office of Government Ethics did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
White House adviser Kellyanne Conway received criticism in 2017 after she seemed to break similar federal ethics rules by talking on television that Americans should “go buy Ivanka’s stuff.”
The White House did not take any disciplinary action against Conway despite calls from the ethics watchdog.
In an interview with Fox News last week, Conway decried the Goya Foods controversy. “It’s just a shame that people make everything so politicized, including food,” she said.
The hashtags #Goyaway and #BoycottGoya were trending on Twitter after Robert Unanue, chief executive officer of the New Jersey-based company, made an appearance with Trump at the White House on Thursday. They had met for signing an executive order creating an advisory panel aimed at propelling Hispanic prosperity.
Unanue, who is the third generation of his family to run the business, had said, “We’re all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump who is a builder, and that’s what my grandfather did.”
Trump himself weighed in on the dispute late on Friday, writing on Twitter simply: “I LOVE @GoyaFoods!”
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.